Do we have the usual generational refresh with the Samsung Galaxy Note II, compared to the original Note, or are there groundbreaking new features that will warrant my extra cash outlay for the newest member of the Note-able family?

This will be the question on Note owner’s minds this holiday season, since, after all, they are in a possession of a giant handset that singlehandedly elbowed out a niche for itself where one didn’t exist before. We will try to answer that question in the comparison below, so let’s roll...

Design:

The Note II weighs about the same as the original Note, but is narrower and more elnogated, making it a bit easier to hold and operate with one hand. Not by much, though, since it is still a giant, unwieldy thing to deal with, especially if you have smaller hands.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II (left) and the Samsung Galaxy Note (right)

Moreover, despite that the design now is much more appealing with the polycarbonate plastic on the back that makes it look like an oversized Galaxy S III, the back is also much more slippery, compared to the textured finish on the first Note. Granted, you won’t look like a total dork holding a Note II to your face and talking now, as the chassis has a more signature design.

The sides of the Samsung Galaxy Note II (bottom) and the Samsung Galaxy Note (top)

It is still impressive how Samsung has crammed an even larger screen in a slightly more compact handset, though, and the answer is slimmer bottom bezel - this thing is thinner than both what we have on the Note, and even what we’ve got on the S III.

Backs

Rear cameras

Speakers

The Samsung Galaxy Note II (left) and the Samsung Galaxy Note (right)

As for the S Pen, while its silo on our newish Note II unit feels tighter compared to our office Note that has been worn in, the stylus itself is much more ergonomic with its thicker and longer body, making it very easy to hold and write with. The Note II makes a beeping noise when you walk away from the desk, and the stylus has not been inserted back in the silo.

Display:

The 5.5” 16:9 HD Super AMOLED screen on the Galaxy Note II beats the Note’s 5.3” one in almost every aspect except official resolution. It uses the full red-green-blue trio for each pixel now, so it beats the PenTile matrix of the Note on subpixel density, making red and green colors appear more solid.

It is also much brighter than the Note’s screen, and quite possibly the brightest AMOLED screen of Samsung to date, making it better for use outside under direct sunlight. Moreover, the typical coldness of Super AMOLED colors is almost gone now, and the blueish tint when displaying white is down to a minimum, whereas it is very visible on the original Note. In short, the Note II has the best screen Samsung has produced to date, considering AMOLED’s other virtues, like very high contrast and wide viewing angles, making it ideal for enjoying video.

I do too. I don't like that they share the touchwiz nature UX with the gs3. Notice all the wasted space at the bottom of the screen above the dock? They also won't allow you to put 5 widgets across the home screen. It's nothing major, but if it weren't for lack of perfomance and S pen features I would almost rather go for the original Note.

OK, so the Note II is better than the Note I. The key question for me is, should I get the Note II or pay half for the Note I? Is the new twice as good? Apt-x (PHONEARENA YOU MISSED THAT!) and LTE really are the key improvements to me.

@ gadgety.. Get the Note 2.. Reason being, it comes with a Quad core and straight out the box with JB.. The Note 1 may not be able to handle much higher than KLP (key lime pie) or Lollipop (2 next versions of Android)

Note 1 will have limitations sooner than the Note 2..

I hear Google may actually be naming their Android OS versions after Cannabis strains from now on. So K will be for King Kush and L will be for Lemon Skunk, M for Mako Haze, N is Northern Lights #5, O is Obama Kush and P is Purple Diesel, etc.

Thanks for the comparison! I'm now sold. I love my Note, but what good is a phone if I can't use it as a phone in all places?! The earpiece and loudspeaker are atrocious on it! And the best thing is I will have 3 (because I can't stand AT&T service near me) providers to choose from.

Since when is 7 hours stellar battery life? I have a Note 1 and no chance of making it through a day. I always have to plug it in. Start taking calls and it will drop 5% increments over 15 minute periods. Last week on a teleconference it went from 90% to 60% in just over 1 hour 45 minutes. Battery life dwindles even faster in LTE areas.

The battery is replaceable though. I'm sure there will be some massive aftermarket battery available, or if u are really a power user u can just carry a spare! Gotta love this phone, hands down the best phone I've ever seen.

I am happy to say, that after 8 days of owning this phone, I am overboard happy with it. Not too large and I'm a petite lady. Loud and quality sounding speaker. Great battery life. AllShare is too much fun. Google Now is enough to buy the phone. The very best phone I've ever owned and I'm a HTC fan. Never liked Samsung or their TouchWiz UI. However, they have improved over the years and now I see no reason to leave TouchWiz.

Hardware wise I so much prefer the note 1. For me the note 2 is too slim and it will not allow for 5 icons. Also there is too much wasted space and for me its as if the interface is crammed. but for software upgrade I would gladly stay with my note 1. Alas I have to give in and give my note 1 to my wife who is not a tech geek at all but likes the note 1 because I always praised the note 1 when i was using it. I just could not stop praising my note 1. Its the best phone ever!!!!! kudos Sammy!!!! Already i miss my note 1, now I have to scroll sideways when i read my gmails. With the note1 the email fit my screen and i did no right and left scrolling. Sammy should look into this and make corrections.

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